


A Penny Saved

by Northern_Lady



Category: Batman (Comics), Batman (Movies - Nolan), DCU
Genre: Desire, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Romance, Family, Gotham City - Freeform, Hurt/Comfort, Loneliness, Murder Mystery, alternate Julia Pennyworth origin
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-25
Updated: 2018-07-02
Packaged: 2019-05-28 12:15:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 11,538
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15048803
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Northern_Lady/pseuds/Northern_Lady
Summary: Alfred's granddaughter arrives unexpectedly and mysteriously at Wayne Manor. Bruce is pulled into the mystery of her arrival.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first story in the Batman fandom so please bear with me as I try to develop the characters accurately.

The bruises really weren't that bad. He’d had worse. At least that's what Bruce Wayne told himself as he collapsed into bed after a recent fight, too exhausted to bother with the first aid kit or even a change of clothes beyond the removal of his mask, shirt, and cape.

“Master Wayne?” Alfred's voice spoke from the open doorway of the bedroom. 

There was a note of concern in Alfred's tone and Bruce had known the older man long enough to understand right away that Alfred's concern wasn't about Bruce's late night return to the manor or his bruises. This was something more urgent. 

Bruce rolled over in the bed, an effort that was made not without pain, and turned to face Alfred. “What's wrong?” 

“We have a guest,” the old butler explained, still worried. 

Bruce was almost out of bed to find this intruder before he saw that Alfred had raised his hands as if to stop him, a gesture to remain calm. “Not that kind of guest.” 

“Then what kind?” Bruce asked, deflated, confused. 

“My granddaughter is here.” 

“Y-your granddaughter?” He hadn't ever known Alfred had any kids. How could his most faithful employee and mentor and friend have kept a secret like this? 

“I will explain everything in good time Master Wayne but at the moment I am afraid I have to bring Kathrine to a hospital. I only disturbed your rest because I require a little assistance to bring her there.” Alfred took a step back, ready to leave but waiting for Bruce to respond. 

“Oh. Of course. Happy to help,” Bruce responded after a moment of stunned silence. 

Alfred nodded and turned to head down the hallway. Bruce grabbed a shirt and pulled it on as he followed the older man at a pace he had been unaware Alfred was capable of going. They went down the stairs two at a time then across the ballroom and into the library. 

Kathrine sat in one of the easy chairs. She was a red haired young woman probably in her early twenties and at first glance Bruce could see she had been injured. It wasn't just the bruise on her face or the torn seam at the shoulder of her navy blue pencil dress. There was also the fact that she had taken off her left shoe because her ankle was apparently too swollen to wear it. 

“This is Master Wayne,” Alfred told her as he reached her chair. “He’ll accompany us to the hospital. Master Wayne, this is Kathrine, my granddaughter.” 

“Nice to meet you,” Bruce said, unsure that it was even true. He knew nothing about this woman or why Alfred had kept her existence secret. Or maybe Alfred hadn’t known she existed until recently. That was plausible Bruce supposed. 

“My grandfather never stops talking about you. It’s good meet you as well,” Kathrine told him., her accent the same British accent that Alfred had. 

Bruce knew better than to mention the fact that Alfred had never once spoken to him about her. He also understood by a cursory glance at her that she probably couldn’t walk. That was the reason Alfred had needed his help. “That ankle doesn’t look so good. You need some help getting back to the car?” 

“I’m afraid I do,” She said, a little uncomfortable with the idea. 

How had she gotten inside the house with an injury like that? “I hope you didn’t take a fall on my front steps?” Bruce said as he bent down to pick her up. 

“No I…” Kathrine seemed uncomfortable with the idea if explaining herself. “I came here injured. I mostly hopped up the steps using one of the railings as a crutch.” 

Bruce carried her easily enough to the side door and out into the garage. Alfred opened the car door, making space for Bruce to put her in the seat. By the time she was settled Alfred was already in the driver’s seat. Bruce stood there next to the car unsure if he should get in or not. Clearly, Alfred had wanted to keep his family separate from his work. This knowledge disturbed everything Bruce had thought he’d known about Alfred. 

“Are you coming with us Master Wayne?” Alfred called out. 

Without a word, Bruce got into the car, not even knowing why he bothered. He found himself in the back seat behind Alfred and Kathrine. The two people in the front seat didn’t make conversation and Bruce didn’t try to engage them. Some part of him felt like Alfred owed him an explanation and the other part knew that Alfred had done so much for him already over the years that the older man didn’t owe him a thing. If anything, it was Bruce who owed Alfred. 

They arrived at the hospital and Bruce got out and carried Kathrine through the emergency room double doors without being asked. A receptionist or nurse greeted them and asked what the visit was for and then for all Kathrine’s contact and health insurance information. Bruce gained no details from that beyond a London address and Kathrine’s admission that she not only had a bruised cheekbone and sprained or broken ankle, but bruised ribs as well. The admission paperwork was completed and the three were sent to the waiting room, this time with a wheelchair. 

They sat there in silence in the waiting room for their turn to see a doctor and Bruce couldn’t figure out for the life of him what could have possibly happened to Alfred’s granddaughter for her to be injured like this. She was well dressed, not like someone involved in the criminal underworld might have been. He doubted her injuries were drug or crime related but it did seem clear that they had been inflicted by a person. Then he noticed her wedding ring and it all started to make sense. 

Another nurse came to escort Kathrine away and Alfred got up to follow. 

“It’s alright Grandad. I’ll be okay alone for this,” she said not unkindly. 

Alfred nodded and took a seat again. 

“What happened?” Bruce asked the older man as soon as the had wheeled Kathrine away. “I didn’t even know you had kids…” 

“For a long time I didn’t know it either,” Alfred admitted sadly. “You remember that I lived in Wayne Manor since I was a boy. My father took a job with your family not long after my mother died. Truth be told, I spent my whole childhood just wanting to go back to England, to go back home. When I turned eighteen I did go back home. I joined the Royal Marines and planned to never go back Wayne Manor ever again.”

“What changed?” Bruce asked as Alfred seemed too lost in thought to continue. 

“I met someone. Marie was a nurse with the special forces and when my term of service was up, we got married. I took a Valet job with a wealthy family in London, we got a flat, and had a daughter, Julia. By the time Julia was six months old, Marie was tired of being a housewife. She had spent years as a working woman and being alone all day with a baby did not suit her well. I hadn’t had a mother for most of my life and didn’t want her to leave Julia alone. I was young and stupid and we ended up fighting so much from then on that the both of us were miserable. Then I got word that my father was sick, dying. I went back to Wayne Manor to care for him in his last days. It took longer than I thought. Three months of illness and doctor visits and short hospital stays only to be released to go home again and again. My father was glad to have me there and I felt I couldn’t abandon him. Just after he died I got the letter from Marie. She told me not to come back. She told me she’d found a job, had moved her mother into our flat to care for Julia, and there was no need for me to return. Of course I called her multiple times and her mother wouldn’t let me speak to her. So I got on a plane and went home to London. I wasn’t going to leave my wife and daughter behind so easily as that. When I got home, a man met me at the door. Marie told me he was her boyfriend and had been for years and that Julia was never my daughter anyway. They both told me to leave and never come back. I was devastated enough that I believed them,” Alfred was emotionally strained by telling this story. 

“But it wasn’t true?” Bruce understood where this story was going.

“No, it wasn’t. And with the loss of my father, the Wayne family needed a new Butler so I went back to the states and took my father’s place. I didn’t find out the truth until many years later. Not until Julia was twenty two years old and deathly ill with leukemia. She needed a bone marrow transplant and in desperation to find her a match, her mother finally revealed the truth. The man in our flat that day had been her cousin.She’d invited him there just to make sure I would leave. Anyhow, I got to see Julia before she died but not in time to save her. And I got to meet Julia’s husband Ted and their baby daughter Kathrine. Ted has always welcomed my involvement in Kathrine’s life. For most of her childhood we wrote letters…” 

The story made sense in all but one point. “Why didn’t you mention any of this before, Alfred?” 

“I learned of Kathrine’s existence, and Julia’s death just a few months before your parents died. Your father knew why I had gone back to London for a short trip, and I told him all the details of what I had found there. Once your parents were gone...I didn’t want you to believe that I cared for my granddaughter more than I cared for you. You had suffered enough. And as you grew older, there was never a good time to tell you. I am sorry Master Wayne. I had not meant to keep a secret for so long.” 

Bruce only nodded. He understood. It didn’t mean he wasn’t hurt, but he understood. “So what happened today, with her injuries?” 

Alfred sighed. “Whatever happened, she has refused to tell me. I knew a week ago that she and her husband Landon, were planning to visit Gotham city. He would be here on business and she had hoped for a chance to visit me. I’ve only seen her a handful of times over the years and have never met Landon. The two of them eloped almost two years ago and she hasn’t called or sent letters nearly as often since getting married. It had been months since I’d heard anything from her until last week. Then tonight she showed up at the front door, alone. Her car at the bottom of the stairs was scratched up and dented and she wouldn’t tell me a thing about what happened.” 

“Huh,” Bruce said,still wondering what could have happened, and not knowing what else to say. 

“I know what you’re thinking Master Bruce and I’ve had the same thought myself,but she told me herself last year that Landon is good to her, that he’s not the sort of man to hurt her.” 

“What sort of business does he do?” Bruce asked. Maybe her husband had enemies. 

“Pharmaceutical,” Alfred told him. “He manages a very large company and was in the city this week to meet with some hospital administration about a drug trial. That’s all I know.” 

The nurse who had previously wheeled Kathrine away had returned to the waiting room and approached Alfred. “Your granddaughter is in a room now. She’s crying too much for us to get a word out of her. I think you’d better come and be with her.” 

Alfred got to his feet. Bruce stayed where he was. “I can wait here,”Bruce offered. 

“I wouldn’t dream of it. You’re family. Come with me.” 

Bruce didn’t bother to protest on the grounds that he wasn’t Kathrine’s family. Maybe she wouldn’t want him there but Alfred did want him there. “Then I’ll wait outside the door.” 

“Fair enough,” Alfred agreed. 

When they reached Kathrine’s room Bruce only stepped inside long enough to grab a chair from one side of the bed and move it outside the door. The young woman was sitting up in her hospital bed, hugging a pillow with her face buried as she wept almost silently.. Bruce saw Alfred hug her as he left. The nurse closed the door behind him and Bruce couldn’t anything going on in the room after that. Some twenty minutes later Bruce caught sight of two uniformed police officers headed down the hallway towards him. 

“This Kathrine Tyler’s room?” One of the officers asked. 

“Yeah, it’s Kathrine’s room anyway,” Bruce was unsure of her last name. “What’s this all about?” 

The officers ignored his question and knocked on the door. The nurse opened it. “She’s not in any state to answer questions right now. I’m just warning you ahead of time.” 

“I know,” One of them said sadly, “It’s not the first time we’ve had to question a new widow. It’s still best to do it while her memory is fresh.” 

The nurse still blocked the doorway. “She’s still my patient so you be gentle with her,” she said firmly. 

“We promise we will,” the officer said as the nurse stepped aside. 

This time no one closed the door. 

“We’re sorry to have to do this Mrs Tyler. If you’d rather that your nurse and your family stay with you while we ask these questions, they’re welcome to stay. What can you tell us about what happened tonight?” The officer asked. 

“I..I can’t… why can’t I just come to the police station later and tell you?” Kathrine sobbed. 

“Well, if you remember more details later that’s exactly what we’d like you to do. However, it’s best if you can tell us what you remember now before you forget anything.” 

Kathrine took a deep shaky breath. “Landon and I were leaving our hotel tonight, the Hilton on Maple Street, and we were crossing the street to go to that Italian Restaurant Leomati’s. This car just pulled out of a parking spot up the street and drove straight at us. Landon saw it coming and shoved me out of the way. I still got hit but he...he was crushed. The car drove right over him...I knew he was dead and I was just sitting there in the street.” 

“What happened after that?” The officer probed. 

“Um...I think I crawled to where he was...and I was screaming, trying to figure out if he was dead. And this woman passing by came out into the street and called an ambulance.”

“What can you tell us about the car?” The police continued their questions. 

“It was black, a luxury car, a cadillac I think. The windows were dark. I didn’t see the driver.” 

“And was it parked to the left of the hotel or the right?” 

“To the right, about eight or ten spaces from the entrance,” Kathrine told them, her voice more steady than before. 

“And after you arrived here in the ambulance, have you had any visitors besides the people already here?” 

“I didn’t come here in the ambulance. They wanted to bring me to the hospital and I refused. I rode to the morgue instead. I couldn’t leave him. Not...not like that.” 

“Then how did you get to the hospital, Mrs Tyler?” 

“I.. um…” Kathrine was having difficulty with this question. “I’m not sure. I remember they didn’t want me staying at the morgue for long. They made me leave...I...think someone called a taxi...and I ended up back at my hotel. I didn’t realize until I got out of the taxi that I was actually injured...I could barely walk....I got as far as the hotel lobby and there was this man in a suit...he followed me to the elevator...and it freaked me out enough that I turned straight back around and went out the side door to the parking garage. He followed me out there too...at a distance...and then I drove to my grandfather’s. Grandad let my car through the front gate but whoever had followed me never tried the intercom or do anything to follow me up the driveway. They just left.” 

“Do you or your husband know anyone else in this city? Anyone who perhaps didn’t like you?” The officers asked. 

“You don’t think it was an accident either, do you?” She asked worriedly. 

“We have to consider all the possibilities.” 

“I didn’t know anyone except for Grandad. Landon was here on business. I don’t know the details but he did tell me that the deal didn’t go well.That he had to refuse the offer that was made to him and some people were very unhappy about that.” 

“We’re going to ask you to come down to the station tomorrow Mrs Tyler. We’ll need the contact information for your husband’s employer and if you think you can remember what the man looked like who followed you in the parking garage, we’ll have a sketch artist available,” the officer continued very seriously. 

“Okay,” she agreed. “I’ll be there.” 

“We’ll be doing everything we can to find the driver of that car and we’re sorry for your loss,” one of the men said as they left her hospital room. 

It was another hour before all Kathrine’s injuries had been fully treated, including getting a cast on her broken ankle. The nurse wheeled her out to the exit in a wheelchair and Alfred waited with her while Bruce drove the car to the door to pick them up. The ride home was mostly silent aside from the occasional sniffle from Kathrine as she struggled not to cry. Bruce parked the car in the garage and went around to open Kathrine’s door. The wheelchair she had used belonged to the hospital and though crutches had been prescribed, there were no pharmacies open at this time of night. He was going to have to carry her back inside. She didn’t protest being carried. She didn’t protest and not being taken back to her hotel. Neither Bruce nor Alfred had spoken of it but there was no chance they would let her go back there alone. She didn’t seem to care about her fate or about being carried. She hardly responded at all except to simply go limp in his arms and rest her head against his shoulder. Alfred opened all the doors in their path and Bruce carried her to the empty bedroom nearest Alfred’s. 

“I know you’ve been through a great deal Kathrine,” Alfred spoke up as they neared the room. “From the sounds of things you never had supper. You really ought to keep up your strength. I’m going to make a little something and come straight back,” Alfred opened the door to the intended bedroom as he spoke. 

She just barely nodded in response. Alfred had already wandered off by the time Bruce reached the bed. He bent to place her on the bed and she suddenly was no longer limp. She wrapped and arm around his back and the other hand clung tightly to his shirt. “Don’t go,” she whispered and then she just started crying, a flood of tears unlike the silent tears she had shed at the hospital. This was pure grief. 

Bruce did the only thing he could which was to sit down on the bed with her still in his lap and hug her while she wept. He sat with her a good ten minutes before Alfred returned with a tray of food.. Kathrine immediately pulled free of Bruce’s hug and reached for her Grandad to hug him instead. Bruce got to his feet to leave the pair of them alone. 

“Thank you Mr Wayne,” Kathrine called out to him before he was out the door. 

He turned to her. “You’re welcome. And you’re welcome to stay as long as you need.” 

It was the middle of the night but Bruce had no intention of going to bed just yet. There were two things he needed to do first. One, check out Kathrine’s car which was still parked in the driveway and see what the damage was that Alfred had been talking about. And two, review his security camera footage from the front gate and see if there was any glimpse of who had followed her to the manor. Alfred had done so much for him over the years that solving the mystery of who had hurt his granddaughter like this and make sure they were brought to justice was the very least he could do.


	2. Chapter 2

It was late the next morning when Bruce woke up to the sound of Alfred placing a breakfast tray next to his bed. The older man looked tired but he hid it well, he always had. 

“You stay up all night?” Bruce asked as he got out of bed and carried the tray to his desk across the room. 

“I could ask you the same thing yourself,” Alfred replied. 

“I was only up a couple more hours. I got a license plate on that car that followed Kathrine to the manor. It was in the security footage. I gave it to Gordon before I went to bed,” Bruce explained, taking a seat at the desk to eat. “How is she this morning?” 

“She is making phone calls to her mother in law, the funeral home, and to her employer back in London to request a leave of absence,” Alfred replied. “I offered to call the funeral home for her but she refused. I don’t think she slept more than an hour or two.” 

“No, I wouldn’t think so,” Bruce understood the inability to sleep after a loss all too well. 

“I am going down to the pharmacy to get her crutches and then to her hotel room to pick up her bags. I’ve told her I will return in time to bring her to the police station this afternoon. Will you do me a favor and look in on her if I’m not back in an hour. I could very easily get stuck in traffic or end up having a long wait at the pharmacy. I wouldn’t want her left all alone in the state she is in for long.” 

“I could go for you,” Bruce offered. He’d rather run errands than end up comforting a stranger again. 

“Until we know what exactly happened and that she is no longer in danger, given how you spend your nights, I think she’s safer her with you,” Alfred said a little uncomfortably. “That is, if you are willing to look out for her in the meantime.” 

“Of course,” Bruce agreed, knowing how hard it was for Alfred to ask anything of him. “Go ahead and make your trip into the city. I’ll look in on her. I’ll go to the police station with you both later if you like.” 

Alfred looked genuinely relieved. “Thank you Master Wayne. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate all of this.” 

“No, it’s nothing,” Bruce told him. “You’ve always been there for me. Now it’s my turn.” 

After Alfred had gone, Bruce finished his meal, did a set of pushups, then took a shower. He was still rather bruised and worn out himself. The hot water of the shower helped relieve some of the constant ache. He dressed and warily made his way towards Alfred’s side of the house. He didn’t really want to face Kathrine. He didn’t like social situations and bereaved people were even more awkward to deal with than happy people. He wasn’t sure what he was supposed to say or do if God forbid she started crying again. 

The door to Kathrine’s room was open.She sat on the bed in silence,apparently done with her phone calls. Her red curly hair was hanging loose on her shoulders. The bruise on her face looked worse than it had the night before and it was clear that she not only had she been recently crying,she had hardly slept at all. In spite of all that, she was a rather pretty woman and given the state she was in she looked vulnerable and delicate. He realized in that moment that he actually wanted to look out for Alfred’s granddaughter for her own sake and not just for Alfred’s. 

 

“Did you sleep at all?” Bruce asked her from the doorway. 

Kathrine jumped a little at the sound of his voice. She had been so lost in thought she hadn’t seen him standing there. “Not much.” 

“Alfred asked me to look in on you. He said you were making phone calls this morning. I take it you got everything take care of?” Bruce asked, just because he had to say something. 

“I did, thank you Mr Wayne.” 

“You can call me Bruce,” he took a step back. “If you need anything while Alfred is out, I’ll be around the corner in the library.I can hear you shout from there.” 

“Bruce wait…” she called out before he could fully escape her. 

He stopped and went back to the doorway. 

“You can call me Kathrine. And you don’t have to go.”

Shit. She was inviting him in. He hesitantly strode into the room and pulled out the chair at the desk to the left of the bed. He turned the chair to face her and took a seat. 

“Alfred told me you were calling about a leave of absence from your job this morning. Where did you work?” he asked her, just for the sake of saying something. 

“In a bookshop in London. I don’t make much money there, not like Landon made with his job. I just work there because I like it. I like the books and I like the sorts of people who read books. They told me to take as much time off as I need so...there’s no worries about that anyhow.” 

“It’s good to have a job you like,” Bruce replied. 

“Do you have a job you like?” She asked him. “Grandad talks about you all the time but he never tells me about what you actually do.” 

Bruce smiled a little at that. “It’s not all that interesting.” 

She stared at him with mistrust in her eyes. “That’s what Landon always said about his work and I’m starting to think he wasn’t being truthful with me at all.” 

“Maybe,” Bruce didn’t disagree with her. “Maybe he was just trying to protect you from the truth.” 

“I wish he wouldn’t have,” Kathrine’s tone held bitterness and regret. 

“You might not be alive if hadn’t,” Bruce suspected there was lot more going on with Landon Tyler than anyone knew just yet. 

She shook her head, angry, and finally replied in a whisper. “I’d rather be dead.” 

It was a sentiment that Bruce understood all too well. Even so, he couldn’t let her give in to that line of thinking. “Alfred might have had a heart attack if you hadn’t survived.” 

Kathrine looked a little guilty at those words. “He used to call me every saturday morning. My entire childhood I knew that at ten on Saturday mornings Grandad would call me. It wasn’t until I was in my teens that I realized the time zone difference and how early he must have been getting up every weekend to do that. Once I was at a friend’s house for a weekend and my Dad had to tell him I wasn’t home. I got a package in the mail later that week, a cell phone. My first cell phone just so he could be sure that he never missed a call again….You’re right Grandad would not take it well had that car killed me instead.” 

“Speaking of cars, I got the license plate of the car that followed you here last night. It was in my security footage,” Bruce told her. “I already gave it to the police.” 

“How long before they have a match?” 

“Probably already do. We’ll ask when we visit the station later today.” 

She breathed a sigh of relief. “So you are going with us? I told Grandad I didn’t think it was safe to go anywhere and I would feel better if we didn’t go alone. I’m glad he convinced you to join us. He talks about you often enough that I feel as if I’ve known you all my life.” 

“I actually offered to go,” Bruce said, because even though he couldn’t say he felt as if he knew her, he thought he ought to offer something in friendship after what she had just said. “It’s not a problem.” 

With tears in her eyes Kathrine reached across the bed and took his hand. “I can’t thank you enough, Bruce, for letting me stay here, for bringing me to the hospital, for sitting her with me last night while I had that meltdown. If this had happened in some other city I don’t know what I would have done…” 

“It’s nothing, really, it’s the least I can do for Alfred’s granddaughter,” Bruce was uncomfortable with her thankfulness as well as her tears. 

He was saved from his discomfort by the ringing of his phone. “Commissioner Gordon?” Bruce picked up the call and stood to his feet to take the call. He crossed the room. It was difficult for him to stand still and talk. At least here it was. 

“We got a match on that plate Mr Wayne. It belongs to a fellow by the name of Chuck Cadenson. He works as an administrative assistant for the Director of Gotham City Hospital. I’ve sent a squad car out to pick him up for questioning. We’ll let you know what we find out.” 

“Thanks Commissioner,” Bruce was about to hang up the phone. 

“How is she doing anyway? Alfred’s Granddaughter?” Gordon asked. 

“As well as can be expected,” Bruce said. 

“Right. Well, I’ll get back to you soon.” 

Bruce turned back to face Kathrine. She had turned in the bed and swung both feet to rest on the floor. He could see she was gazing at the bathroom door trying to figure out how she would cross the room to the bathroom with her ankle and foot in a cast. 

“Need some help?”

“Please,” she nodded her agreement. 

Bruce gave her an arm to support her weight on. She hopped most of the distance across the room all while holding on to him. He waited outside the closed bathroom door until she emerged and then helped her back to bed. She looked positively exhausted. 

“I think I should let you get some rest now. I’ll still be in the library if you need me,” this time, Bruce fled the room before she could stop him. 

He reached the library and looked at the spot on his arm where she had clung to him for support. She had been so thankful for his help. He had seen it in her eyes. Batman had seen thankfulness before when he rescued someone from a mugger. Or other times he captured a long wanted criminal and the families of that criminal’s victims would make some sort of public statement of thanks.This was different. The was tangible and real and for once in his life, it meant something. It was as if the darkness he had known for so long, finally had a tiny spark of light.


	3. Chapter 3

After a three hour nap a short trip to the police station that day, Kathrine didn’t seem in any better spirits than before. No one expected she would be. She had identified Chuck Cadenson as the man who had followed her in the parking garage. Gordon let them know that Chuck was claiming he had followed her to try and get in contact with her husband about their business dealings. He claimed there had been nothing nefarious in his behavior. Bruce wasn’t buying it. None of them were. Kathrine had given the police the contact information for her husband’s employers and the three of them had driven home. 

Alfred parked the car and Bruce opened Kathrine’s door and helped to arrange her crutches. Bruce could see the pain on her face as she rested her weight on the crutches. The doctor had said she had two bruised ribs and one rib was fractured. Trying to walk on crutches would probably be agony. Why hadn’t they prescribed her a wheelchair? She had managed the walk from the car to the police station with a great deal of effort. The distance from the garage across the Manor to her room was a lot further to walk. He hadn’t been there to see how she managed to leave the house. He’d met Kathrine and Alfred at the door. She had only taken a few steps thus far and it seemed clear that the effort was too much for her. 

“It’s a long way back to your room,” Bruce pointed out. “Are you sure you want to try and walk that entire distance?” 

“I think I can manage,” she replied, barely looking at him. 

“But Kat….” Alfred argued. “He’s right. It is a long way. Let Master Wayne carry you so you don’t hurt yourself?” 

She took a few more painful hops on the crutches then stopped and finally met Bruce’s gaze. “Okay,” she agreed. 

Bruce was careful to avoid her ribcage when he picked her up and to try and support her weight in her shoulders but she gave a whimper of pain all the same. 

“Sorry,” he told her apologetically. 

“It’s okay,” She let her head rest against his shoulder once again. 

“I’m going start the supper,” Alfred said after he had opened the door for them. “I’ll bring up a tray for both of you as soon as it’s ready.” 

By the time Bruce reached Kathrine’s room, her hand was gripping his shirt so tightly that he knew she wasn’t going to let go of him very easily. Her eyes were closed, her head rested against his shoulder and neck, but her hands clung to his shirt so tightly that he could feel her fingernails digging into his skin. He didn’t even try to put her down upon reaching her room. He just sat down on the bed with her on his lap. If she wanted to go she would let him know. She didn’t. Once she realized he wasn’t leaving she relaxed her grip on his shirt and instead cuddled a little closer and began to cry. 

“I’m sorry…” she sobbed. “I’m sorry to be like this...I just…” 

“It’s okay,” Bruce responded. “You don’t have to explain. I get it. I’ve lost people too.” 

“That’s not why I’m crying. Not just because I lost him but because I was a terrible wife. When I found out he was going to Gotham I insisted on going with him. I insisted because I planned to leave him. I had hoped I could stay with my grandfather for a little while until we could get a divorce. But the other night before the car….that night he told me he was sorry for always being so busy with work...for never having any time for me….he was sorry that he had treated me like my job wasn’t as important as his...he was sorry for everything...and I told him I still wanted the divorce...so he asked me to come to dinner with him just one last time before I left...only we never got to that dinner…” Kathrine’s words were nearly incoherent but Bruce mostly understood what she was trying to say. “I was angry with him and planning to divorce him and the last thing he did was save my life.” 

“I don’t know what your reasons were, but if you felt you needed a divorce it doesn’t make you a bad person.” Bruce said as comfortingly as he could. “It’s easy to think it’s your fault or think of all the things you could have done differently. It wasn’t your fault that that car came for you when it did and it wasn’t my fault that that mugger shot my parents when he did. The guilt won’t help you. Don’t let it consume you.” 

Kathrine didn’t reply to that, she simply hugged him a little tighter and kept crying. Bruce found that he really didn’t mind. He felt a small twinge of guilt about the fact that some part of him liked having her so close. He’d had a few girlfriends over the years and he’d always been wealthy enough that he could get the attention of women whenever he wanted. However, life had been too dark and bleak in recent years and his life was so dangerous that he had told himself he he shouldn't be in a relationship. He hadn’t been this close to a woman in a very long time. Bruce decided to take his own advice and not let the guilt get to him. Besides, Gotham needed Batman all the time but this was the first time in ages that anyone needed Bruce Wayne. It felt good to be needed and to be close to someone, even if only for a few a minutes. 

Bruce sat with his arms around Kathrine for a while longer until she managed to stop crying. Once her tears had ended, he started to move, to pick her up so she could sit on the bed. 

“Wait!” she whispered anxiously. 

Bruce stopped moving. Her hands had tightled once again in the fabric of his shirt. She took a few shuddering breaths and then she loosened her grip. “I’m sorry. You can go.” Kathrine said reluctantly. 

“If you don’t want me to go I can stay longer,” he offered, he had no qualms about being close to her. Words of comfort he couldn’t do, but this, he could do this. 

She nodded. “It’s just...it’s been almost a year since anyone held me like this. Longer since the last time I had so much as a kiss. It’s just...it’s nice to not be quite so lonely.” 

He couldn’t disagree with that. He couldn’t understand how any man could be married to a woman like Kathrine and go a whole year without so much as kissing her. Either Landon had a mistress or he was gay. Otherwise it didn't make sense how any he could sleep next to this woman night after night and not want her. “It is nice,” Bruce affirmed, his voice more husky than he had intended. 

At that she pulled herself a little nearer to him and rested her open hand against his chest. He could feel her warm breath against his neck. Desire was coming off of her in waves. Bruce couldn't deny that he desired her just as much in return. He felt himself go hard beneath her. She felt it too because she responded with a breathy sigh and let her hand wander up to rest on the other side of his neck, her fingers on his jawline. 

“I don't want to hurt you,” Bruce finally found the will power to speak the words. He stood up with her still in his arms and placed her on the bed. She was gazing up at him with some mixture of guilt and confusion. “You’re still injured and I’m not sure you’re thinking clearly.” He took a step back. “If things were different...just give it some time…” 

Bruce got quickly out of the room before he could change his mind. He nearly jumped at finding Alfred standing outside the door with a tray of sandwiches in his hands. The older man met his eyes and said not a word. Alfred simply nodded, a nod of respect and thankfulness. Bruce knew that Alfred had to have been outside the door for a long while. Long enough to be thankful that Bruce hadn't taken advantage of his granddaughter’s grief. 

Bruce took a sandwich from the tray on his way past and headed off to the batcave. He had no place in particular to be that night but he needed a distraction and if that distraction ended in violence, so much the better.


	4. Chapter 4

It had been easy to find the home address of the Gotham City Hospital Director, Randy Whitaker. It had been pretty easy to shoot his grappling gun to the eleventh story and make the climb to Randy’s bedroom window too. The window was open and Batman slipped inside and stood in a quiet corner out of view of Randy’s bed. 

“What business did you have with Landon Tyler?” His voice was low and angry in the darkness. 

The figure sleeping in the bed startled awake. “Who’s there?” A woman’s voice called out. She sat up and reached for a light switch. 

“Don’t touch the light. Don’t move,” Batman said firmly. 

“What do you want?” she asked, still shaken, terrified. “Who are you?” 

“You’re Randy Whitaker, hospital director? Tell me what business you had with Landon Tyler and tell me everything. No lies.” 

“What business? There was no business. I’ve known Landon for years. I was an exchange student in London during University. We met then. He’s just a good friend, that’s all,” Randy explained quickly. 

“I said no lies!” Batman shouted, taking a step into the moonlight from the window where she could see his silhouette. 

“Okay...okay… we weren’t friends. We’d been having an affair for over a year. I make a lot of trips to the UK and I always stop and see him when I go. This time he came to see me, that’s all.” 

“At the hospital?” 

“Yes at the hospital, at least at first just to let me know he was in town. Then we were gonna meet here in my apartment but he never showed up,” Randy explained. 

“That’s because he’s dead,” Batman told her. 

“He’s what?” Randy clasped a hand over her mouth and started to cry. “No...no he can’t be dead…” 

He didn’t know how this kept happening to him, how he kept finding himself alone in bedrooms with crying women. As much as he wanted to escape, he had more questions to ask. 

“You know anyone who would have wanted him dead?” Batman asked. 

“He was murdered? Oh god...I don’t know but I bet it had something to do with those people in Africa….last year a shipment of drugs from his company went out to a village in Africa. Some of the drugs were expired. Eighteen people died. It was an accident but he started getting death threats….that had to be it…” 

“The murderer drove a cadillac,” Batman said, unimpressed. “I doubt an African village had those sorts of resources.” 

“Then I have no idea what happened,” Randy sobbed. “I loved him!” 

“You think of anything, you call Commissioner Gordon,” The bat said and he escaped out the window. He knew better than to go far. He waited on the side of the building near the open window to see what she would do next. 

Moments later he heard the sound of her phone dialing. It wasn’t just three digits. She wasn’t calling the police. 

“What the hell did you do Peter?” Randy was all but yelling into the phone. “The Batman was just here. He says Landon Tyler is dead….Well you said you would kill him before you’d let me divorce you for him….I don’t believe a word of it. You sounded serious the other night. You said you would kill him and it’s only a matter of time before the police figure out that you did. Sign the divorce papers or I’ll tell them what you said. I’ll tell the police or the Batman or the media, just sign the damn papers!....Yes, I realize that! But that’s why you don’t get it. It was never about his money, it was about getting away from you and I haven’t given up on that yet….Fine, you have 48 hours!” Randy hung up the phone. 

Batman made the climb down the side of the building. He got into his car with heavy heart, pretty sure the mystery of Landon’s death had been solved at this point. Just to be sure he picked up the phone and called Commissioner Gordon. 

“What can you tell me about Peter Whitaker?” Batman asked. 

“Give me a minute,” Gordon said, obviously having just been woken up. “Uh...let’s see, he’s married to hospital director Randy Whitaker…” 

“Yeah, I already know that much. Does he have a criminal history?” 

“Not to speak of. It says here he was in a car accident ten years back. Got paralysed from that, permanently.” 

“Then how would have killed anyone? Does he have money?” 

“If I remember right, the Whitaker family have plenty of money, and some highly trained security guards at their main house,” The Police Commissioner told him. 

“Thanks Gordon. I’m gonna check into it.” 

He had every intention of doing just that except that in an alley ahead of him he could see a robbery was about to take place. He’d have to deal with these common thugs first and then go visit the Whitaker house.


	5. Chapter 5

Bruce bought a wheelchair and left it outside Kathrine’s room when he returned home early that morning. There had been no time to find and visit the Whitaker house. The entire night had been spent dealing with criminals. He had very nearly gone straight home but the thought of possibly needing to carry Kathrine at some point during the day just to transport her somewhere made him realize he couldn’t go home without a wheelchair. As much as he wanted an excuse to touch her again, he couldn’t risk it. It wouldn’t be right. So he placed the wheelchair outside her door and trudged back to his room to sleep. 

Bruce awoke well past noon. Alfred didn’t normally knock on the door but Bruce was so tired that he didn’t think about that. He just got out of bed shirtless and went to the door. Kathrine was there sitting in her wheelchair. 

“I..uh…” she stuttered a little at the sight of him. “I hope I didn’t wake you. I wanted to thank you for this. I was able to explore the house a little. To go out in the garden. It helps not to be trapped in that room all day…” 

“You’re welcome,” Bruce said, still too tired to know how to continue the conversation. 

“Looks like I’m not the only one who is injured around here,”Kathrine commented. 

Bruce looked down at himself. The bruises from the week of crime fighting were adding up. The armor he wore always helped but it didn’t protect him from everything. 

“Guess not...” Bruce moved away from the doorway and grabbed a shirt that he’d left hanging over the back of a nearby chair. “So you’ve been exploring? Have you seen the fountain?” he changed the subject. 

“I haven’t,” she sounded intrigued at the prospect. 

“I’ll show you where it is,” Bruce went ahead and pushed her wheelchair down the long hallway. 

Before he was fully aware of how much time had passed, Bruce spent several hours sitting out by the fountain chatting with Kathrine. He could see that she was doing slightly better that day than she had been on the previous one. It looked like maybe she had slept and was in less physical pain. She even managed to laugh a little at a joke he made. Seeing her smile made him hate the idea of telling her what her husband had truly been up to. Maybe he didn’t have to tell her right this minute but she should eventually know the truth. Shouldn’t she? 

“What is it?” Kathrine broke into his gloomy thoughts. “Something is wrong?” 

“I was just thinking about something I learned about the investigation that’s all, and I’m still trying to figure out how to tell you.” He might as well be honest. Maybe she wouldn’t even want to know anyway. 

“Tell me what?” she asked anxiously. 

He very nearly opened his mouth to blurt out the truth to her but he couldn’t bring himself to to say it. She had told him that her husband had barely touched her in a year and learning that Landon had been with a mistress during that time was going to hurt her even further. 

“Bruce?” she asked him, still worried. 

“It’s not going to be easy for you to hear this but...Landon was having an affair.” 

Kathrine sat up a little straighter in her wheelchair, stunned. Then she found her voice. “With who?” 

“The hospital director her in Gotham. I guess she did a lot of business in the UK. It was going on for over a year. I’m sorry.” 

For a short time, Kathrine didn’t react at all to that. She gazed at the fountain in stunned silence. “I always suspected,” she said almost calmly, a few tears running down her face. “I think I want to go back inside now.” 

Bruce pushed her wheelchair all the way back to her room. He stopped next to her bed and offered her a hand to transfer to the bed. She stood in front of him with all her weight on one foot her eyes meeting his. She’d had a reprieve from her grief out by the fountain and now it was back and doubled in intensity. And she stood there looking at him as if she were waiting for him to comfort her but not daring to ask. Bruce sighed and went ahead and hugged her where she stood. The hug was brief. She couldn’t stand for long so he helped her to the bed. 

“You’ll be okay to rest for a little while?” Bruce asked, stepping away from the bed. 

“I will. Would you mind passing me that book in the open suitcase?” 

Bruce turned to the open suitcase on top of the desk. The case seemed to be a mixture of Kathrine and her husband’s things. A book sat on top of the mess and he picked it up to pass to her. Underneath the book was a man’s shoe and inside the shoe Bruce could clearly see a USB drive. Bruce slipped the drive into his hand without Kathrine even noticing. Then he thought the better of it. 

“Did Landon use a lot of computers in his job?” Bruce asked, passing her the book. 

“Sure, he used them in the office,” she said, curiously. 

“So you don’t know what this is?” Bruce showed her the tiny drive. 

Her eyes widened. “No. And I don’t want to know. What if it has...pictures? You should just take it and give it to the police.” 

“I will,” Bruce agreed, and he would after he he had a look at it himself first.


	6. Chapter 6

Almost everything on the thumb drive seemed to be pharmacy related. Bruce couldn’t really make sense of any of it so he called Gordon to pick it up like he had agreed to do. Then he realized he was hungry and had missed breakfast altogether. He glanced around the room and saw that he didn’t seem to have a meal try waiting for him like he’d always had. This was certainly odd. Where was Alfred? 

Bruce went down to the kitchen to look for Alfred. He could smell the burning food before he even got there. Sure enough, the kitchen was empty, a cutting board with carrots left sitting out, and in the oven a roast was burning. Bruce turned off the oven and took out the burned meat. The kitchen filled with smoke. Smoke alarms bagan to go off. He did his best to wave or fan the smoke away from the smoke detectors until incessant beeping finally came to an end. In spite of all the noise, Alfred never returned to the kitchen. This was very unlike the butler that Bruce had known all his life. 

After checking several areas of the house where Alfred would often keep busy, Bruce went back towards Kathrine’s room. Before he reached the room he could hear voices talking. He remained outside the door, not to eavesdrop, but to wait for Alfred to leave the room without him having to face Kathrine again. She probably didn’t want to see him after what he’d just told her. No one likes the bearers of bad news. 

“I suspected something was wrong, I really did,” Katthine was saying, her voice breaking. “But I thought maybe his work wasn’t entirely ethical or legal. Like maybe they were taking shortcuts on producing the drugs. Maybe that’s why they they had that whole incident in Kenya. I never believed it was an affair….” 

“No one ever suspects something like that. I didn’t when your grandmother told me she’d been seeing someone else. It’s not your fault. It’s not,” Alfred said gently. 

“I know,” she sobbed, “At least I think I do. And I don’t know why it should matter anyway. We were planning on getting a divorce. I already knew it was over.” 

“Even so, it’s normal to be hurt,” Alfred continued. 

“You’re probably right,” she sniffled. 

“Of course I’m right. I didn’t get to be old as I am without learning a thing or two about people.” Alfred said good naturedly. 

“Gram said the same thing a few times,” she replied, a little more cheerful than before. “She’ll be at the funeral,” Kathrine added more seriously, “Are you sure you still want to go?”

“I’m not about to let that woman stop me,” Alfred said firmly. 

“Bruce will give you time off to go to London for the funeral?” she asked. 

“I haven’t asked him yet, but he will.” 

“And what if you asked him...or if I asked him….if he would attend as well….would that be out of place?” Kathrine’s tone was a little worried. 

“Out of place because he never met Landon or because you only met Master Wayne a few days ago? I don’t think it matters. A friend is a friend, even if they are a new friend, and you need all the support you can get.” 

“Gram won’t like it…” Kathrine said sadly. “I mean she’ll think that you brought your employer to make a scene. She’ll be the one making a scene before it’s over with. I just know it.” 

“Then let her make a scene,” Alfred said, unfazed by the prospect. “That woman loves making a scene whenever she can. She’ll do it no matter who attends the funeral. I wouldn’t let it worry me.” 

“You’re right,” Kathrine sighed, resolved. “I’m making far too much of this. I have more important things to worry about. I need to return that voicemail from Landon’s sister, Sophia.” 

“You don’t need to do any such thing,” Alfred said, more firmly than earlier. “You don’t owe her an explanation for anything. Don’t give her the satisfaction of placing blame on you that isn’t even yours to begin with.” 

“If I don’t call her now and explain, she’ll just ask me in person at the funeral,” Kathrine argued. 

“I have half a mind to call Sophia myself.. I’ll tell her why you were getting a divorce, that her brother was an adulterer and a fraud, and that her mother is nothing but a gossiping old hag.” 

Kathrine laughed a little at that. “That’s just what you need, to have both Gram and my mother-in-law make a scene over you at the funeral. No Grandad, I’ll call her myself. She’ll probably yell at me a while but I almost feel as if I deserve it. It’s fine.” 

“Put it off a few hours at least, Kathrine.” Alfred advised. 

She sighed. “Okay. I’ll try and take a nap first.” 

“I have to go tend to the dinner. It’s likely burned by now. I’ll have to start over I think. I’ll check in with you later. Don’t make any calls without me. Promise me?” 

“Alright, Grandad, I won’t.” 

Bruce was still standing outside the door when Alfred exited the room. “The dinner burned.” Bruce said simply. 

Alfred’s startled reaction was barely perceptible. “And you never had any breakfast Master Wayne. I apologize.” 

Bruce shrugged. “Sounds like you had more urgent things to take care of.” 

Alfred looked a little guilty. “This is exactly what I feared would happen.” 

“That you’d actually have something more urgent to do than your work?” Bruce asked, not truly offended. 

“You are not just my work Bruce and you never have been. I thought you knew that.” Alfred began to sadly walk away, then stopped. “I’ll bring up a brunch tray in ten minutes.” 

Bruce almost told him there was no need but decided that it be better to just let the man feel useful.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Teeny tiny chapter just because I wanted to update with what little I had.

The Wrought Iron fence around the Whitaker House was easy for Batman to scale under cover of darkness. The house was on a hill on the edge of the city and had a large garden and grounds with flowers and willow trees. He’d done his homework before coming here and already knew which bedroom belonged to Peter Whitaker. Batman went around to the backside of the house and with the help of the grappling gun ascended to the window. The light was still on. 

Perched on a ledge, Batman waited near the open window for a long while. He’d talk to Peter later if he needed to. Right now, Randy had given him a 48 hour deadline which was currently down to 24 hours. This time of night Peter might be worriedly making phone calls. Batman was willing to bide his time and see what Peter decided to do next. 

At first the only sounds Batman could hear were the sounds of the TV in Peter’s room, the crunching of potato chips or some other snack. Then the voice of a servant or maybe a nurse who came to offer Peter his evening medications. Then the phone rang. 

“What do you want Randy?....I haven’t changed my mind. I’m not signing….you know why. That prenup gives you half my inheritance and I’m not giving anything to the woman who ran me over and left me paralysed….I don’t need proof. I know it was you. I always have. And now I found out that your boyfriend Landon was run over too. Looks like you succeeded with him. Inherit anything from that?” Peter asked almost carelessly. Batman could hear Randy yelling on the phone but couldn’t make out the words. Then Peter spoke again. “Just shut up and listen to me for once! I don’t care what threats you make. I will not let you win. I might not even let you live. So I suggest you quit threatening me and quit calling me!” 

The room fell silent and Batman went back down the side of the building to have a look in the garage. Inside were four cars. A red sports car, a handicap accessible van, a pickup truck, and a black cadillac. He checked the front of the car carefully for signs of damage or blood but found nothing. The car seemed to have been recently washed. Batman went back out into the night with more questions than answers.


	8. Chapter 8

Bruce awoke late the next day to Alfred bringing him a meal tray, seemingly back to the normal routine. 

“Were you able to discover anything in your investigation last night Master Bruce?” Alfred asked. 

“Not so much. I found some leads but not many answers.” 

“The answers will come eventually, I’m sure,” Alfred said as he took Bruce’s laundry hamper from the bathroom and made to leave the room. 

“So when is the funeral?” Bruce asked before Alfred could leave. 

“On Friday in London. I assume I have your leave to attend?” 

“Of course. I sort of overheard Kathrine was considering inviting me. I’m not sure I should go.” Bruce said, uncomfortably. “The last time I went to a funeral…” It had been his own parents. 

“I’m not so sure you should stay here alone,” Alfred argued. 

“I’m not entirely helpless Alfred. I can manage to make a sandwich and maybe buy some new clothes if I need clean ones,” Bruce joked. 

“That wasn’t what I meant,” Alfred said. “I meant you might wish later that you had gone, for Kathrine’s sake. At least talk to her about it. By the time you finish your breakfast she’ll be in the library.” 

“Okay,” Bruce reluctantly agreed. 

A short time later Bruce found Kathrine in the library sitting on one of the sofas. Her wheelchair was within reach at the end of the sofa and she seemed immersed enough in her book that she didn’t even hear him approach. 

“Kathrine?” Bruce said quietly but she startled a little anyway at the sound of his voice. 

“Oh hello,” she put the book aside. “I didn’t even see you…” 

“Sorry.” he went ahead and sat on the sofa next to her. “Alfred told me that I am invited to the funeral.” 

She nodded, “Yes, that is...if you’re okay with that?” 

Bruce had gone there with the intention of telling her that he couldn’t attend but found that now that the moment had come, he couldn’t say no to this woman. 

“If that’s what you want” he finally replied. 

She nodded again. “I appreciate it, really I do.” 

The pair of them fell silent but in spite of the silence there was some sort of tension in the room. Maybe it was because of the way Bruce’s arm was resting next to Kathrine’s, so close that he could feel her warmth without quite touching her. He knew she wanted to touch him. He knew it based on the way she had clung to him twice already. He knew it based on the fact that her husband had barely touched her for more than a year and she had responded to his nearness with desire. And he knew that he himself had been lonely for far too long to be able to resist the charms of a woman like her for long. With a sigh he reached his arm beneath hers and took her hand in his. She let out a breath of relief and leaned a little closer to rest her head on his shoulder. They sat like that for a long while until Alfred found them to bring them an afternoon snack. 

All three occupants of Wayne Manor had supper in the big dining room that night. Before it was over Kathrine’s phone started ringing. 

“It’s Gram,,” she said, glancing at the screen with dread. “She still wants me to convince you not to come to the funeral Grandad.” 

“Then don’t answer it,” Alfed said. 

Kathrine let the phone go to voicemail but minutes later it was ringing again. “She’s just going to keep calling until I answer. I don’t have the strength to argue with her right now,” Kathrine said, discouraged. 

“I’ll talk to her,” Alfred reached out his hand for the phone. Warily, Kathrine gave it to him. Alfred left the room to take the call. 

They finished their meal and Alfred still didn’t return. Bruce thught he’d help out a little by clearing the table. Kathrine wheeled herself into the kitchen and posted herself next to the dishwasher where she could load the dishes that Bruce passed to her. Once the task was done, Bruce offered to wheel Kathrine back to her room. 

“I’d rather not,” she said honestly. “I’d rather leave the house, maybe see a movie. I can take myself to one of you don’t want to come. I just need to wait to get my phone back.” 

“I’ll take you,” Bruce offered. 

They didn’t bother to wait for Alfred to finish the phone call. They left him a note and headed out of the house for a movie. By the time they returned from the movie Alfred was already asleep. Bruce took Kathrine back to her room but this time when she stood on one foot to get out of her wheelchair and she stood there looking at him as if she were waiting for something, this time he gave it to her. He took a step closer, wrapped his arms around her and kissed her. She melted against him as he kissed her and he wasn’t sure she would let him go very easily but when he stepped away she did let him go. 

“Good night Kathrine,” he said, a little husky. 

“Good night Bruce,” she replied, breathless. 

Bruce was glad he wouldn’t be sleeping that night. Stopping criminals would have a dual purpose for him today.


	9. Chapter 9

It was the middle of the night and Batman was already out on the city streets serving justice when Commissioner Gordon called him. 

“We did like you asked. We got a warrant and checked the underside of that car in the Whitaker’s garage. It had blood on it. Landon’s blood.” Gordon said. 

“So you’ve arrested Peter?” 

“We brought him in for questioning. He has a solid alibi. He was doing physical therapy during the time of the murder. There was a therapist and an aide who can both vouch for him. Plus he was driving his van that day. We have security footage of his van pulling up to the therapy center. It was his car that killed Landon, but he wasn’t driving.” 

“Any idea who was?” Batman asked. 

“Not yet. You find that burglar on ninth street yet?” 

“I’m trailing him right now,” Batman hung up the phone and continued his chase. 

By the time he woke up late the next day, Bruce was more hungry than usual. Alfred had left a meal tray by his bed but wasn’t in the room. Someone else was. 

“I told Grandad to take the day off. I hope that’s alright,” Kathrine said, and Bruce realized that she was just in his room to leave the tray. She had to have brought it in on her lap in the wheelchair. “He keeps checking on me at all hours of the night. I don’t think he’s sleeping. I thought he should rest.” 

“Yeah, it’s fine,” he said, not moving from his bed. He was barely dressed. Giving Alfred the day off wasn’t really appropriate of her but coming in his room while he was asleep was even less so. He should be angry and he found he was simply not. It was almost as if she belonged in the house and in his room as much as Alfred did. But not to work for him, or as a friend, but as something more. 

She turned her wheelchair to leave. “I meant to leave this without you waking up. It’s not exactly my place to be in here. Sorry.” 

“You can come in here anytime,” Bruce said without thinking it through. 

Kathrine’s cheeks flushed a little red as she moved towards the door. “Thanks I...I should go.” 

Bruce slapped himself on the forehead for his stupidity after she had gone. He was pretty sure he had embarrassed her enough that she wouldn’t be back anytime soon. A hour later after he had eaten and showered she did come back though. She stopped her wheelchair outside his open door. 

“Bruce, can I ask you a question?” she said. 

“Yeah, come in.” he said. He had just been preparing to take his tray back to the kitchen but that could wait. 

“Where do you go at night?” 

That was not the sort of question he had been expecting. Bruce didn’t have a ready answer. 

“I came by your room last night. I was lonely...and you had kissed me...so I thought maybe….but you weren’t here. Is it your work, or is it someone else?” she asked, and there was worry in her voice. 

“There’s no one else,” Bruce said, but he was pretty sure that given what she had just been though, she wasn’t going to believe him so easily. 

Tears in her eyes she back up her wheelchair, shaking her head as she did. “I’m not going to be stupid all over again. I’m not. The most likely reason for you to be out all night….is….whatever was starting to happen between us, it shouldn’t happen. The whole thing is a bad idea. I’m sorry.” 

She fled away from him and Bruce couldn’t decide if it was better to tell her he was the Batman or to just let her go and give her time to heal. It was a problem he didn’t know the solution to.


End file.
